Slow Down, Love

Hello world. How are you? The Christmas decorations in malls are about to come out and it’s a reminder around end October and early November where I take stock of where I have been and what my plans for 2017 are.

I know I keep on moving because idle hands (and minds and lips) are the devil’s workshop so I’ve been told. So it hasn’t been anything but go, go, go this year. There have been many highlights, too many to mention. There were also many goals I had set out to do which has not been completed. I guess you get what you focus on.

Some highlights include developing a training programme around the 2nd book, Shake & Spear Your Business: The Romeo & Juliet Way together with Chris Tan. Book No 3 which was written in 2014 finally got published. I was also awarded Malaysian Startup Journalist Of The Year from the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards. Opportunities come your way which may not be part of the plan but jump on it as in getting myself certified as training provider by the Institute of Training & Organizational Learning (ITOL UK) which was fully funded by a national programme.

Some things mysteriously happen when you write it down like doing more speaking and emcee-ing work. I also wrote for my work to take me regionally which has also transpired. My financial and career goals have been pretty much on track but there’s an upcoming spanner in the works

I had grand plans to visit Iceland this year as part of my lifestyle goal but other plans got in the way. I am barely scraping through my short quarterly breaks but have planned one for the end of the year. For my mental goals, I managed to squeeze in one voice lesson out of eight and this is way back in January and I never got started on silversmithing.

I removed some toxic relationships which were draining me and developed some new ones. As Dr Henry Cloud said in Necessary Endings, rose bushes although blooming needs to be pruned regularly to come back stronger and better.

There were/are a lot of questions and reflections on commitment, loyalty, dedication, priorities and hard work in the personal and professional capacity and I don’t spend enough time dissecting or processing these situations. Although I wrote down what I wanted in relationships, I do sell myself short sometimes and I why I do it is best answered by myself. In friendships, you are supposed to give without measure but if it’s not reciprocated or wanted, do you continue?

My spiritual journey had its stops and starts. Plans for a project got delayed and I have lost my mojo and interest in it even though I know it’s work that needs to be done. Allotted quality time spent with my son (yes, you have to put this in your schedule) were met plus a yearly holiday with my mums. Healthwise, I got trimmer and fitter from better eating habits but I think the weight slowly crept back again. Back to the drawing board!

I am a planner and I know some plans don’t work out the way I want it and some things are just divine intervention. I am reminded of this sobering thought in Proverbs 19:21 which I struggle with. “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”